What is your SO's Specialization??

[Michele]

Russ choose a ROAD specialty. Ophthalmology. I have NO idea what it will really be like since he just started his IM pre-lim year, but....

I think Ophthos are kinda geeky in that they like lots of gadgets/high tech stuff. You get a mix of surgery and medicine and it's virtually ALL outpatient. You have complient patients because, come on, who wants to be blind?? The hours are good (from what I hear and read) and the pay is pretty darn decent (again from what I hear and read).

He started med school talking neurosurgery, then quickly changed to ob/gyn (reproductive endocrinology), then fairly quickly decided on ophtho after the 2nd year class....not even clinicals. He scheduled a bunch of ophtho rotations and externships early (to make sure he loved it and for letters of rec)..and then was lucky enough to match!!

He also REALLY liked neuro and psych...and espeically behavior, etc. I think if he was a vet he'd have boarded in behavior.

They say the spouse will often know before the doc what specialty they will go into...I honestly would not have picked ophtho for him...so I don't know if I totally by into that. He was pretty happy with a lot of rotations, but definitely MISERABLE on others.

He knew I loved surgery before I did, though. Luckily vets can still do surgery without a residency, but someday....

[Gwendolyn]

I second what Michele says...

There are some fellowships that are time consuming, like plastics (trauma) and retina (also occasional trauma). Obviously, in practice the level of trauma load is up to the group.

We are learning that patients can sometimes be too compliant...they freak out easily and wait until the weekend or after hours to call about the wierd red spot on their eye. Often consults are frustrating as well because no other docs want to touch the eye, so DH gets called in to do some basic eval stuff that house staff should have done, but won't or can't because the eye freaks them out.

DH loved surgery, but hated the time away from his family. His favorite thing to say is, "at the end of life no one ever says they wished they had worked more." Ophtho provides surgical specialty without the intensity. DH also loves the small detail and delicate surgery....right and the gadgets.

[DCJenn]

My husband said that they get a lot of referral calls from Optho because the eyes really are a window to the brain.

Jenn

I think that half the pay of private practice is a little low. I would say closer to 25-30% less, starting out, give or take. That is what we have noticed, though for some places we have heard closer to the 40% range. It would depend on the specialty and institution, market in that city or region versus others, etc.

[Flynn]

DH always wanted to be a surgeon....mostly ortho but then decided on GS instead for residency......fast forward.....he seriously considered Peds surgery after GS residency was completed (he NEVER wanted to be a general surgeon, he just wanted to get to a different speciality through GS) but decided on Cardio Thoracic due to hating some parts of Peds surgery.

Soooooooo DH is a Cardio Thoracic surgeon. (Chest surgeon....he does Cardiac and Thoracic procedures)

GS residency hours before the 80 hour work week were inhuman
after the 80 hour work week our lives changed for the better times 25

CT fellowship was not horrible as far as hours but where he trained there are two rotations that are "reasonable" and two that are not every year. Most programs have 12 months of hell -- then you do it all over again the next year.

[Phoebe]

DH knew from the beginning it would be peds. His original goal was to be in peds primary care with a sports med background. However, the ICU rotations peaked his interest early and he hated well-child check-ups.

He chose Neonatology because of the hands-on patient care, contact with families and challenging cases. He loves it, but it is an emotional drain on him. He probably would have chosen Peds ER as a second choice.

[planet]

EM intern. DH did a year of surgery then switched. He likes the work and I love the schedule. The surgery year was very hard on us all. Dh has it in him to totally immerse himself in his work. He actually had a very hard time leaving the hospital. EM is much healthier for him too.

specialty

Psychiatry. Probaby with a fellowship in forensics.

I've found over the years, that there is a negative connotation with this specialty. My hubby passed all the boards with 90+percentile and had many options but chose this for many reasons.

It does bother me that people most of the time don't know the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. I guess i'm venting here. but anywhoo.

SO is an emergency physician in PGY-1 however has done 3 years post grad here in Ireland before being accepted onto an emergency programme in Boston. his other consideration was peds. I think he would have been a fantastic pediatric doctor but the emergency programme incorporates some ped too and he's happy.

[Momo]

C'mom where are the other cardiologist spouses? DH is an invasive/interventional cardiologist that holds 5 boards. We are coming up on his 2ND anniversary of his first private practice stint. I remember a friend from MI, whose hubby had already finished and was in private practice, warning me to "brace yourself"...as you may surmise it's my DH that the ER docs and Hospitalist call constantly ...it's my DH that has to leave for the acute MIs no matter what time or where UGGGGHHHH....can't people learn to have heart attacks when it's convenient for me!!!!! LOL just kidding of course. In all seriousness I am super proud of him and all that he has accomplished. He is an FMG he went straight from high school to med school then headed for the states where he has been blessed beyond measure...he makes me proud because he IMO exeplifies the American dream...you know the whole immigrant thing and working his way to success...

I hear you Suziebelle! Why can't people schedule their heart attacks and chest trauma within normal working hours, hehe.

DH is a cardiothoracic surgeon. He became a specialist in Japan, then we moved back to Australia where he worked as a senior registrar while cramming to take the Australian fellowship exams (in his second language, with only a year to prepare...) Because of the country-swapping, we're a bit late in the game too, with DH turning 39 this year.

The hours can be very bad, but he really likes the fact that hearts are pretty predictable - if you get in soon enough you can usually fix the problem; and in doing so, most of the time it saves someone's life. That's got to feel good at the end of the day! The unpredictable and long hours are pretty rough on the family though...interestingly, you hardly see any women in this job. For him, I think the appeal is a kind of balance between adrenaline and reliable outcomes.

He chose the specialty as a single guy though, and now I believe he sees the appeal of dermatology much more clearly!

DH is starting his 3rd year in vascular surgery. Here you sub-specialise immediately. He is actually thinking of changing to something else surgical bc 1) he is bored with vascular (but that could also be a function of the hospitality and the types of cases they treat) and 2) job prospects once rads starts taking over more vascular procedures. He wants to consider GS and maybe transplant (or transplant as a sub of GS). Unfortunately it means re-doing all 6 years here.